you for joining us. caller: in the rebel movement in syria, i was wondering what elements there are. a democratic, left, it is there anyone that we can actually root for? do they have a name? that's about it, really. guest: we are rooting for the syrian people. for democratice and free it syria. there are a number of civilian organizations and there are still non-violent protests taking place in syria to seek exactly that. in terms of the armed groups, that's a very difficult point. as patrick pointed out, they range from conservative islamists to jihadists. it is tough in that sea of rebel groups to find a moderate that the u.s. can support. however, the u.s. has found some armed groups that are, again, more moderate in their pronouncements and those may be the ones we ultimately are working with. host: you mentioned mustard gas. here is another comment from our viewer. guest: this is a very important question and there is credibility issues and skepticism given what happens with the weapons of mass des